Circa Survivor Strategy: How to Navigate the Holidays

Circa Survivor Strategy: Why Saving These Six NFL Teams for Thanksgiving and Christmas Could Pay Off

Planning ahead is always important in Circa Survivor, but in 2026, the holiday schedule makes it even more critical.

Unlike a traditional NFL survivor pool, Circa Survivor requires contestants to make up to 20 winning selections. In addition to NFL Weeks 1–18, the Thanksgiving Eve/Thanksgiving Day/Black Friday games count as their own contest leg, while the Christmas Eve/Christmas Day games make up another separate leg.

That means surviving the holidays requires some advance planning.

And six NFL teams stand out because they are eligible to be selected during both the Thanksgiving and Christmas legs:

• Green Bay Packers
• Los Angeles Rams
• Chicago Bears
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Buffalo Bills
• Denver Broncos

Those six teams could become some of the most valuable teams on your Circa Survivor board.

Why These Teams Matter in Circa Survivor

The most important rule to remember is simple: once you use a team in Circa Survivor, you cannot use that team again.

That makes every selection a resource-management decision.

Using Green Bay, Buffalo or Philadelphia early in the season might get you through a regular NFL week, but it also removes that team as an option for both special holiday legs later in the contest.

If you're fortunate enough to still be alive when Thanksgiving arrives, flexibility becomes extremely valuable.

The 2026 Thanksgiving Leg

Circa Survivor's special Thanksgiving contest leg includes games played Wednesday, November 25 through Friday, November 27.

The available teams are: Green Bay, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Dallas, Kansas City, Buffalo, Denver and Pittsburgh.

That's only 10 teams to choose from.

The 2026 Christmas Leg

The Christmas leg includes games on December 24 and December 25.

The available teams are: Houston, Philadelphia, Green Bay, Chicago, Buffalo, Denver, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle.

Now the field shrinks to just eight possible teams.

That is where saving teams becomes so important.

Six Teams Give You Holiday Flexibility

Green Bay, the Rams, Chicago, Philadelphia, Buffalo and Denver appear in both holiday legs.

You obviously can't use one of these teams on Thanksgiving and then use the same team again on Christmas. But preserving multiple teams from this group gives you options.

For example, imagine reaching Thanksgiving with Buffalo, Denver, Green Bay and Philadelphia all still available.

Instead of being forced into a particular matchup, you can evaluate which team offers the best Thanksgiving opportunity and still potentially have several choices remaining for Christmas.

That's much different than reaching Thanksgiving and discovering that you've already burned most of your Christmas options during the first 11 weeks.

Don't Look at Thanksgiving in Isolation

One potential mistake is choosing the team that looks best on Thanksgiving without considering what that decision does to your Christmas options.

The goal isn't simply to survive Thanksgiving.

It's to survive Thanksgiving and still have a strong path through Christmas.

For instance, Detroit, Dallas, Kansas City and Pittsburgh are available during the Thanksgiving leg but do not play during the Christmas leg. Houston and Seattle are Christmas options that aren't available during the Thanksgiving leg.

Those differences could become extremely important when mapping out a holiday strategy.

A contestant might decide that using a Thanksgiving-only team makes sense because it preserves more dual-holiday teams for Christmas. Another contestant might have already used those teams and need to go in a completely different direction.

There isn't one perfect strategy in August. Injuries, team performance and matchup strength will change dramatically before November.

The important thing is maintaining options.

Think Twice Before Burning Holiday Teams Early

It's tempting to look at the NFL schedule in September or October, find a strong favorite and make the obvious selection.

But Circa Survivor isn't just about finding a winner this week.

The deeper you advance, the more valuable your unused teams become.

Before selecting the Packers, Rams, Bears, Eagles, Bills or Broncos during a regular week, it may be worth asking one extra question:

Do I need this team now, or could it be more valuable to me during Thanksgiving or Christmas?

You shouldn't automatically avoid all six teams. Sometimes surviving the current week takes priority over planning for a week two months away.

But knowing which teams have additional holiday value can help you make a more informed decision.

Start Planning Your Circa Survivor Holiday Strategy Now

Nobody knows exactly what the NFL landscape will look like by Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Some teams will be better than expected. Others will struggle. Quarterback injuries and other roster changes could completely alter which matchups look attractive.

That's why the best strategy may not be picking your Thanksgiving and Christmas teams months in advance.

Instead, consider identifying a group of potential holiday teams and protecting enough of them to give yourself choices later.

The six teams playing during both special legs — Green Bay, Los Angeles Rams, Chicago, Philadelphia, Buffalo and Denver — deserve particular attention.

Every time you consider using one of them earlier in the season, remember that you're potentially removing an option from two of the most restrictive weeks on the Circa Survivor schedule.

If you're still alive in December with several of those teams available, you'll probably be glad you planned ahead.

Playing Circa Survivor From Outside Nevada?

Winners Circle Proxy helps contestants participate in Circa Survivor while living outside Nevada. After completing the required in-person registration in Las Vegas, Winners Circle Proxy can submit your selections throughout the season.

With special deadlines for the Thanksgiving and Christmas legs, having a reliable proxy becomes even more important as the contest moves deeper into the season.

Planning to play Circa Survivor in 2026? Winners Circle Proxy can help you register and manage your picks throughout your run at the $20 million guaranteed Circa Survivor prize pool.